[Sponsored – this post is IKEA-inspired]

The five-day cold spell where temperatures dipped to 20-22 ºC as a result of the monsoon surge earlier this month not just inspired us to take out our winter wear and thicker blankies, but also prompted us to go shopping at IKEA.

Because steamboating* time draws nigh!

Inspired by the never ending stream of Insta-stories and steamboat feasts on my newsfeed, I decided to gather the extended family to ride the cold spell together at a place where having steamboat is never exactly comfortable (read: no airconditioning) but will now be because the weather would, for sure, bring the chills.

My parents’ place would finally be perfect for that steamboat feast which we would otherwise be eating while perspiring endlessly.

And the opportunity shall be seized.

So off to the Gramps’ we go, but not before going to IKEA for some inspiration. This dinner was also in part all about welcoming the new year, and spending it with people we love, and I thought it’d be brilliant to dress up the dining area a little more to accommodate our party of 9. The extended family consists of Grandpa, Grandma, Yiyi, Jiujiu and all of us from the Kaos.

Most of the time it was usually hard to fit in everyone with all the food laid out for steamboat occupying most of the table, and so we usually take turns to eat if it was a steamboat affair.

This year, I was determined to seat everyone at the table to 打邊爐 in the cosiest fashion and so the first thing I purchased for the occasion was this beauty:

For a steal at $39.90, this beauty quickly transformed into a handy cart for our fresh food. Couldn’t been more pleased with having thought of using this like how the restaurants do it.

Next, I took the liberty to get the FULLKOMLIG table cloth (at a steal for $9.90!) and really also because the description says “The table cloth is made from a material that is always smooth directly after washing, so that you don’t need to iron it.”.  I figured a table cloth will always set the mood for a cosy time together, as well as invite the diners to stay longer at the table. I know my mom would probably scream at the impracticality of a white cloth on a round table while having steamboat, but at that price, it was worth taking the risk.

She didn’t scream at me by the way.

Because I had gone over and set it up like this:

While shopping at IKEA, I had also grabbed some new dinnerware like the VARDAGEN sauce bowls for our sambal chilli, the VARDAGEN bowls in 2 different sizes for soup and rice as well as a few sets of TREBENT chopsticks to symbolise happiness for the year. As a gift “筷子 (kuàizi)” represent “快乐 (kuàilè)” which means happiness in Chinese culture.

Always glad to bring more kuàizi to the house!

And so with the table set, the reunion of the family began; first with taking our first 2018 family picture, followed by filling our tummies with food for the soul.

Time to tuck in to get some warmth on so many levels.

My wish this year is for more cold spells and more monsoon surges so we can always take refuge in the warmth of family whenever it’s cold.

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Disclosure: This is the third of three in a series of collaborative work with IKEA. IKEA sponsored all the dinnerware and serveware we’ve used in this post. All ideas here are our own. #IKEASG#ad#sponsored#incollaborationwith #IKEA

See the previous IKEA posts here and here.